Consumers Will Pay More Out Of Pocket Next Year For Specialty Drugs

People with health coverage – including those who buy it through government insurance exchanges and Medicare beneficiaries – are likely to pay more out-of-pocket next year for so-called “specialty drugs,” which treat complex conditions, according to two studies from consulting firm Avalere Health. More than half of the “bronze” plans now being sold to individuals through federal and state marketplaces for coverage that begins in January, for example, require payments of 30 percent or more of the cost of such drugs, Avalere said in a report out Tuesday. That’s up from 38 percent of bronze plans this year.